


Beautiful Blue Danube

by pyrrhickong



Category: Persona 4
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Look I Just Wanted To Write A Thing, unedited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 21:19:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9787394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyrrhickong/pseuds/pyrrhickong
Summary: Two idiots work really hard. Something about music.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was very stream of consciousness and unedited. I just had an idea for how I would like their relationship to play out if Naoto and Kanji had a very interconnected romantic adult life blossoming so I went with it. Hopefully not too much of it is trite and garbo.

He didn’t even have to open his eyes to know that he’d hate where he was. He wasn’t quite at the point of feeling his arms, probably slept on them funny, but he’d wish he could turn them into fists. Hospitals always suck, plain and simple. The attempt to not reek of death and unwashed bodies always gives it this musty, sterile air. It’s suffocating, taking the energy out of you with every breath.

Wait, why would he be in the hospital? Dammit, Tatsumi, getting distracted by stupid shit again. He was always thinking stupid like this - Naoto’d call it thinking of the “what” instead of the “why”. His breathing relaxed, recalling times where Naoto’s hand would run over his on worksheets. She’d chuckle at his insistence that if Satoshi has six and five eighths oranges and Naomi has 45% of his amount, why don’t they just shut up and eat before the oranges get all rotten? If he’d make up a little reason why they had to figure that out, he was helping them, and it wasn’t some meaningless crap made up to try to get him to learn junk. Naoto was great at that - giving him a reason to think on something. But she was also great at distracting him. Not her fault, he’d note, as she did that by existing, but the current train of thought he was on was a great case and point.

Hospital. Right. How’d he end up here? Usually someone would think about the last place they remembered themselves being, but Kanji drew up a fog of hazy memories. It must’ve been something pretty bad if he ended up here, he could reason, but focusing on exactly what proved to be an exercise in futility. Half of his mind distracted itself with exploring the mists of his mind, faint memories of the family textile shop and the scent of dyes finding their way through the shroud. This was quickly wiped away, however, by the other half of his focus, overtaken by his ears trying to figure out what the sound was around him.

Well, the heart monitor he could figure out just fine. Beep, beep, hauntingly practical, yeah that kinda thing’s in every hospital, he already knew that. There was something past that, though. Well, alright, there was the sound of footsteps and a nurse muttering under her breath about how underpaid she is for the amount of people she has to clean up, but that could barely capture Kanji’s interest either. There was something far more gentle, like… a wave, he guessed he would describe it as. A gentle push on his ears, the sound flowing down his body, filling it with a current of warmth. Definitely music, he was able to figure out. A few seconds later, it registered as a classical piece, one he’d heard before, violins and the like with some faint horns in the background. Muscles he hadn’t even noticed ached were gently caressed by the wave, relaxing him before he could even find discomfort. His lips curled into a smile, notes coming together in his mind until he could figure out it was a song.

—

“What the Hell’s a Danube?” he asked Naoto, laying spread out in front of a small table. The piece had come to its conclusion just about halfway through his English assignment. He’d seemed distracted at the time, and Naoto managed to drag the question out of him. She sighed; Kanji was far from unintelligent, despite what others might say and what he himself may have believed. His mind would simply focus in on individual elements of a problem and refuse to let go, clinging on until every step of a problem had been thoroughly explained. His attention to detail was absolutely impeccable as a result, but it would lead to moments like this.

“The Danube River, in the context of choral arrangements of the piece, is significant due to the beauty it seems to bring to the city of Vienna. Hence the title, _The Beautiful Blue Danube_.” Naoto deftly explained. Direct and simple; the way she liked to speak and the way he liked to listen. When greeted with nods of understanding, she smiled faintly. “Would you like me to go over the rich musical history of Austria now, Tatsumi-san, or will that suffice?”

His stammering always proved amusing, once she’d been able to learn the root of it. They’d been studying together whenever she had a free day this second term. Scarce, admittedly, due to casework often calling her out of town and out of classes, but the opportunity to spend time with Tatsumi-san - and perhaps equally as importantly, avoid another “Girls’ Day Out” with Rise - was always a welcome treat. With each other came stability and with stability, safety. Something that both of them had lacked through their teenage years and found within each other. She was certain, one way or another, that one of them would confess to the warmth that the other brought, if terrified to do so and ruin the potentially fragile sanctuaries they’d built in one another. But for now, her contented smile to calm his frantic insistence that he does not need a lecture on “Australian musicians” was more than enough for both of them.

Kanji cleared his throat, trying to get back to his original point. “Well I’m just sayin’…” he began, running a hand through his darkening hair, “S’really nice listenin’ to, right? Like it makes sense… feels like water, dippin’ up and down like waves an’ all that. So I guess the guy really liked the river.”

Naoto nodded in agreement. “Yes, nature is often framed poetically by songs. Is this one too distracting though, Tatsumi-san? I could switch to another track or perhaps mute it.”

Kanji’s head shook very quickly in adamant refusal. “N-no! I really… really like this one. I get it, you just listen to it and there’s like this rush in your hands an’ the music just gets you motivated going forward.” Kanji trailed off, looking toward the window, with a contemplative look Naoto had grown to admire whenever he would share it. “I just… I get it. The guy, I mean, who wrote it, an’ what he felt. Was just wonderin’ if Danube was a girl or somethin’, if she was sad t’be blue. I mean, you’re already the damn most beautiful blue thing, so she must—“

Both of their faces turned red. They decided not to study to the track again.

On their third date, they decided that it would become “their song”. It found itself into every study session since.

—

He wasn’t sure if he’d fallen asleep at that point. The song was still playing, but the fog in his mind felt… different? Like things had just shifted in there and… ugh, it was a pain in the ass to think about how hard it is to think. Kanji managed to will his eyes open, perhaps a bit too quickly from his frustration. Light poured in from unforgiving ceiling lights and a window alike, and he grunted. He soon became thankful for that, as that was enough for a warm hand to overtake his own.

“Long time no see, Tatsumi-san. Did you miss me as much as I had you?” That voice was enough to get a chuckle out of him. His body was heavy, but he felt alive again. A brave grin would meet Naoto’s caring smile as he looked up at her face.

“You rehearse that line, or you just naturally that cool?” A collection of stammers, embarrassment, and pride would erupt from the tiny detective, unable to respond properly before deciding on a firm “Yes”, as if it would solve the matter once and for all. It did.

The silence between the two became more welcome than it was unbearable. The simple joy of staring into her eyes was something that Kanji had greatly missed, and something that she’d clearly shared. His eyes would move down from her own to find an earbud. Between them, her phone, playing the phantom Danube that had been soothing him so and opened on some resource management game involving cats.

“I had thought something more familiar might help relax your body.” she was quick to explain. She didn’t need to explain. She was always doing little things like this, he thought. He was so damn lucky.

“S-so… what happened?” he finally managed to state. Naoto’s expression remained soft, easing his heart. He’d expected something truly awful - hospitals always meant something awful. But Naoto was poor at masking her emotions behind anything but a stone mask of an expression. If his condition amused her, he was in good hands.

“You care too much.” she chuckled, both at her statement and his confused expression. This lead to her clearing her throat and adopting her normal stature. A straight back, a face drawn to a static expression, as if reciting a report.

Naoto stared directly ahead, reciting facts as if off of a prompter. “You fainted due to exhaustion and were brought here. According to your mother, you would barely speak before busying yourself with another project, going from one to the next. After enough time, this lead to dehydration, and your body simply refused to function as it lacked the energy to continue. Fortunately, nothing was life threatening and all issues were easily solved with an infusion of further fluids.”

Kanji nodded along, his wits coming back about him. “So… I just worked m’self too hard?”

“Essentially. Though you only do so when you’re excited or worried, I know that much. And seeing my state at the time…” Naoto trailed off, allowing him to put the pieces together himself. That was right; Naoto had gone to Kyoto in order to work on a large scale investigation of its police force. Leaks to ties to members of the yakuza had gotten out, and on a campaign promise, a regional director had looked for the extermination of organized crime in several key neighborhoods. A very lucrative case, but one with the potential for great danger. As it involved highly sensitive information and identities, Kanji was kept at home for both his safety and to keep Naoto from being compromised; he’d be with her in a heartbeat otherwise.

“Who wouldn’t worry about ya?” he attempted to make some kind of cocky face, but all it ended up doing was giving her a swift giggle. She rarely giggled; such an action was unrefined and vulnerable. It was something he was glad to know she reserved for him.

“Most men do not end up in the hospital out of worry, Kanji”. The way she said his name, it felt like she purred it. It was always like this, the two of them together and alone. Always willing to shower the other with affections held inside for years. Naoto had initially classified it as “puppy love”, but when it had failed to wear off, she removed all mention of puppies swiftly.

“Well I mean… f-forget me! What about you? You figure it out already?” Kanji attempted to hide his embarrassment. She’d, of course, continue to go for high profile cases - that was both what her talent deserved and part of her competitive nature. He’d have to calm down, find compromise…

Instead, he’d find himself surprised as her hand waved those thoughts away.

“I gave brief submissions to the case, gave guidelines, and then gave recommendations for specialists more adept than I at this specific kind of casework.” Kanji’s eyes began to flare up at her simple statement.

“Bullshit! No one’s more adept than you at any kinda case!” His outburst seemed to catch her off-guard, prompting her to jump back slightly. She would return to his side quickly, and he would assault her with an array of apologies, of course, but the surprise remained.

Gathering herself, Naoto cleared her throat. “Yes… after all, those are the detectives who can find themselves apart from their beau long enough to marry their work. I, unfortunately, remain a terrible actress.” She’d been determined to keep this proud smile on the entirety of the conversation, as if she were a snake who’d just eaten a family of rodents and proud of her conquest. He didn’t understand; she was the best damn detective in the world, as far as Kanji was concerned. Not married to her work? Bull, she’s had so many affairs with work the Shirogane Estate could be considered a criminology love hotel.

There was only one obvious conclusion to this. He remembered pacing back and forth in that haze of work before dropping. She always was away on cases, but those became fewer and fewer when they started to see each other. Her work ethic without him had diminished, even as she started taking him on cases to take notes or drive her or, in certain cases, provide her protection from danger. But as she did less work, less cases began to come in. The ones that did were still high-profile, of course - her skill could not be doubted. But other, more determined detectives would fill in the void. No, there was only one conclusion as to what was happening here.

“So I’m holdin’ you back, huh?!” he shouted. He didn’t mean for it to come out quite that angry, but there it was, laid bare.

Her response was as frantic as it was definite. “No, no, no, NO! Never! Kanji I… never think that. I never want you to have that thought again. You… inspire me. You motivate me. So never attempt to sell me that lie again.” Her hands had found their way around his cheeks, his eyes now focused on her twin pools of beautiful blue. The music had begun to crescendo, growing more and more excited. It became louder and louder, but the movement of Naoto’s lips was clear as day.

“When I’d heard you’d fainted…. I couldn’t remain there any longer. I was told it wasn’t serious, of course, but the thought of surprising you when you woke up far exceeded any desire for accolades on that case.” Her hand wrapped around the back of his head, pressing it upward. One of the few times he’d get to look up at her; Kanji would savor it. “Kanji… I’ve come to realize something very simple because of you. I need not hold myself to anyone’s expectations other than my own. And all I need to expect of myself is that I fulfill what will personally satisfy me. I’d, of course, never be satisfied with myself if I’d failed to be a detective - that’s a dream that can never die. But…”

She removed her hat, placing it on his chest. He wasn’t aware of how small the hospital bed was until she crawled into it with him. His arms barely felt strong enough to resist, but he wouldn’t dream of moving them, especially after she nestled her head in the crook of his neck.

“I could also never be satisfied without you. So my goal can’t be to be the world’s greatest detective… it has to be being the world’s greatest detective with you at my side. Other options, like the one I was taking? I can’t accept those. They don’t involve you.”

His arms wrapped around her tightly. The music slowly came to a fade. All doubt in his mind was gone. In this one moment, for both of them, the water was clear. The blue Danube was truly beautiful, and they held each other in its current.


End file.
